- [Voiceover] This time on Tennessee Crossroads, Rob Wilds takes us to White's Creek for a serving of creole cookin' and Nashville music.

Ken Wilshire goes to Memphis at a new attraction at the old landmark zoo.

Then it's off to Shelbyville with Gretchen Bates and a horse-friendly B and B.

Finally, to Murfreesboro with Rob Wilds to meet a patriotic flag peddler.

Our Tennessee Crossroads show for this time, I'm Joe Elmore, sure glad you joined us.

(upbeat music) Would you get upset if people always mispronounced your name?

Well, the owner of a White's Creek restaurant is quite used to it.

You see, first timers always call him Richard, but actually, it's Ri'chard, the French pronunciation.

But as Rob Wilds discovered, he doesn't care what you call him as long as you come calling for some of his creole cookin'.

(upbeat music) - [Rob] This is the Gulf of Mexico.

And this is White's Creek North of Nashville.

Now, what does this have in common with this?

Well, not much.

Except for maybe this.

(upbeat music) - [Richard] I call it coastal cuisine.

- [Rob] Richard Trest can call it that because he knows the gulf coast and cuisine, which he learned from growing up in the middle of it all.

- [Richard] My dad's a country boy from Mississippi, when I go to granny Trest's house, we have fried chicken, fried everything, fried whatever, you know, greasy, fried, great tasting chicken and grits, and whatever she had in the kitchen.

And then my mother cooked a little more creole, ribs, and rice, and shrimp creole, and gumbos and all of that, so I had that broad taste experience.

Coastal cuisine deals a lot with shrimp.

You know, we do have red fish and cat fish, we do use some craw fish to make it kind of a Cajun side, the baton rouge side.

And then some of the things are just things that my aunts did in New Orleans that I, New Orleans is a multicultural heritage, and they were German, my mother's German, so what I bring from them is, I think we have some of the best roast beef in town, if not, you know, anywhere.

And it's a creole roast beef.

- [Rob] It's great to have all those flavors floating around in your mind.

Even better to have a place to showcase them.

- Welcome to Ri'chard's Cafe.

(audience applauding) - [Rob] Which is how Richard became Ri'chard.

- [Richard] I bought this building instead of buying a, you know, $100,000 condo somewhere, I put the money into this property, these two buildings, it ended up being a kind of a cool investment.

My wife said, well, why don't you open a restaurant?

'Bout all it took.

k I sat down k Cried it out k - [Rob] Along with food, Richard loves music.

So it only makes sense that his place would have both.

- [Richard] It's part music venue and it's part Louisiana style restaurant.

It's hard to separate the two.

I think more people come here probably for the food and we give a lot of young, very inexperienced writers a chance to play here.

So, the music's not always, boy, that sounded like it'll be on the radio.

k Dreams k k Why won't you k But it's always real, it's always honest, it's always earnest, you know, so we pick the kind of people that play in here that are, you know, wanting to be a songwriter, they are a songwriter, they wanna be an artist, they really are an artist, it's just will they ever be a famous or commercially successful?

You know, that's another thing.

- [Voiceover] So, no cover tunes?

- No cover tunes, none whatsoever.

We don't allow that, we even wrote our own happy birthday song, so.

You have to do those sorts of things, you know?

And we hold very rigidly true to that.

Now, this is Nashville and some of the people that come in here write cover songs.

Yeah, that's a hard call, but, and I tell my friends that are professional writers, I mean, they had cuts, you know, that you need to play your new stuff that you're workin' on, that's what we're all about.

Developing your songs.

- [Rob] It's the kind of place where singers like Julie Gribble love to play.

- [Voiceover] You get like, a set, instead of it always being a round.

So, you really get a feel of someone's full 20 or 30 minute set, which is so different than a lot of places on Nashville.

Not saying one's better than the other, but personally, I love that 'cause you can really get a relationship with the audience, and people, I think, like that while they're eating, you know.

- [Voiceover] What's your favorite thing on the menu?

- [Julie] The gumbo.

Big ol' bowl of gumbo 'cause there's so much goodies in it.

- Hi, y'all.

(audience applauding) Thank y'all very much.

- [Rob] Just like Richard loves to cook, he likes to stir the pot on stage, too.

k Crocker springs k On the field at morning k Tennessee hills shining k Like diamonds on the fire k - [Rob] It's the sort of place where you'll see all kinds of things.

And you don't have to worry about bringing the family, as everyone finds out very quickly.

- [Richard] Kids have as much fun here as the parents because mom and dad could have a beer, and have an excellent meal, and listen to some great music from some up and coming artists, guests, and stars of the future, I hope.

- [Rob] Whether you see stars in here or not, you're going to meet some very interesting people.

- [Richard] Yeah, we call this Bermuda hillbilly triangle.

That's what White Creek really is.

- [Rob] And leading the fun person parade is Richard himself, or more properly here, Ri'chard.

k It's gonna be real dark, baby k Before we see the light of day k - [Rob] Music, food, characters, a savory stew worthy of the gulf coast, or the banks of White's Creek.

And Ri'chard's cafe.

- [Voiceover] Alright!

(audience applauding) - Looks like fun, thank a lot, Rob.

You don't have to travel far in Tennessee to enjoy a really nice zoo.

All the major cities have one and you could say it all started in Memphis, the state's oldest and still probably the most popular.

Ken Wilshire discovered why it's so popular when he visited a recent new attraction.

(upbeat music) - [Voiceover] One child and three adults.

- [Ken] A family outing to the zoo is always a fun, fascinating experience.

Especially for the kids.

And the Memphis Zoo offers a world of up close and personal encounters inside this amazing urban animal kingdom.

- Whoa!

Whoa!

These grizzly bears are just a pane of glass away at their snack time.

Rather than fear, they put smiles on lots of children's faces.

- Good morning.

- [Ken] But these grizzlies are just some of the many species of animals that have found a home at the zoo's new Teton Trek exhibit.

- [Voiceover] Well, this exhibit is amazing.

You get really up close to the grizzly bears, we got the glass viewing window.

And every day, the bears get fed up against there so they're right up against the glass.

You can have, you know, your hand up there with them right next to you.

Splash!

Good!

- [Ken] Zookeeper Karen Warna says the Teton range in the Rocky Mountains contains a uniquely pristine and extremely diverse ecological system.

Most lived in the Tetons during prehistoric times.

And now, you can see them right here at the Memphis Zoo.

- [Voiceover] This exhibit is just so big.

The bears can frolic, they run, they have that wonderful river and pool.

Peak loves to just sit in the river and you'll see him grabbing his toes and playing with them.

I mean, the whole exhibit is just amazing.

- And you're trying to emulate what the ecosystem in the Teton range is.

- Yes, and all of these animals will be found in Teton and Yellowstone.

And through the exhibit, they can actually see each other, and they know what's going on with each other.

- [Ken] And even the snow white trumpeter swans can take a gander at the huge seven foot grizzlies as these omnivores watched the wolves next door stalking the elk through the fence.

Meanwhile, visitors have a mountaintop view of it all from the boardwalk above.

- [Voiceover] It gives people the chance to step out of the city life right here in the middle of Memphis, and step out into, you know, the wilderness of the Tetons.

- [Ken] Abby Dane is the zoo's spokesperson.

She says Teton Trek is just another enhancement to the continuing expansion of the Memphis Zoo.

- [Voiceover] The thing that they love most is just being able to see the animals in such a natural environment.

There aren't many zoos that have reached a level of being able to create such a naturalistic environment, it's so very important.

Not only for the animals, but also for the care that our keepers are able to give to the animals and the visitors being able to interact with them.

Our mission statement is connecting people with wildlife and it's a great way to do it in an exhibit like this.

(upbeat music) - [Ken] And to add a true Yellowstone feel to Teton Trek, there's the rustic grand lodge that not only offers an escape from the elements, but so much more.

- [Voiceover] The grand Teton lodge that we have here at Teton Trek, the idea's really to mimic the look of the old faithful inn.

If you ever get a chance to visit there, it really does, with some of the architectural features, like the columns and the geyser out front.

The geyser shoots 30 feet in the air so it's really meant to mimic old faithful.

This has been an awesome addition to the zoo from many standpoints.

It's a great place for visitors to take a rest on a hot day or a cold day, even.

But it's also great for private events.

We have a lot of events that take place in this lodge, and anything from weddings, receptions, to also proms for high schoolers.

On the wall, we have some touch screens available so people can interact, especially kids love it to interact with those screens to get information about the exhibit, and also the animals.

And upstairs, there's a wolf video so people can sit and watch a small film about the wolves that we have in our exhibit and kinda learning more about what goes on with them in the wild.

And so it's not just about seeing the animals in the exhibit but learning what's going on in their natural habitats, as well.

- [Ken] Keep yourself pretty warm in here with that size fireplace.

- [Voiceove] That's right.

This is a great place to stop in the Winter.

- [Ken] Since its humble beginnings in 1906, the Memphis Zoo has been an integral part of the city's history.

Today, it continues to attract visitors from all over and ranks as one of the nation's best zoos, especially after major renovations began in 1993 with the opening of cat country.

- [Voiceover] It's an open air, grass, much more naturalistic exhibit.

So, after that, we opened primate canyon which was a more naturalistic environment for all of our primates, apes, monkeys, that kinda thing.

Then China, which is a huge deal for the Memphis Zoo.

There are only three other zoos in the country that house giant pandas, so four zoos in the country and we're one of them that houses these giant pandas.

We have a pair named Yaya and Lola, so that's really an international symbol for us, really puts us on the map as far as zoos are concerned.

- [Ken] They also added northwest passage for polar bears and sea lions, along with upgrades everywhere.

And they have many more exciting new exhibits planned for the future.

It's one place right in the middle of Memphis where anyone can come, leave their city lives at the gates, and everyone can experience a unique harmony in nature.

- [Voiceover] Having a zoo like this, especially in Memphis, I think has been a huge positive asset to our city.

Not only from the economic standpoint with tourism and things like that, but for a place to be viewed, really, as an outdoor classroom.

We have a huge industry of schools that will come to the zoo for their field trips and when they use that time to leave the classroom and apply what they've learned within our zoo, you can't beat that, you can't put a price tag on how excellent it is for a child to be able to come to the zoo.

And not only interacting with their fellow students, but also coming with their family on the weekend.

(acoustic guitar music) - Nice work, Ken.

And you could see more examples of the fine work on Tennessee Crossroads on our website, TennesseeCrossroads.org and follow us on Facebook.

Most people who run Tennessee B and B's would rather you leave your animals at home.

But not Marie Lloyd of Shelbyville.

When she built her bed and breakfast, well, she wanted it to be hospitable to humans and horses alike.

(folk music) - [Gretchen] Shelbyville, Tennessee.

The name is synonymous with horses.

And where there are horses, you're likely to find horse farms.

Among the best is Clearview Horse Farm just South of town.

That's Marie Lloyd over there.

She looks like she was raised in the saddle.

Probably a Shelbyville native.

- I'm the owner of operator of Clearview Horse Farm bed and breakfast and horse show arena here in Shelbyville.

- [Gretchen] Whoa, Nelly.

You're not from around these parts around you?

- No, I'm originally from Manchester in England.

And as a family group, we came over to visit Tennessee attracted by Elvis Presley, so we ended up in Memphis.

And then did a backwards tour and just fell in love with middle Tennessee.

(classical music) - [Gretchen] True, Tennessee is lovely.

But why would a proper English lady cross the pond to start a horse farm?

- Instead of just buying a flower shop and doing that kind of thing, and flower shops aren't really for me, I decided to do what I wanted to do which is have all my horses under one roof, have shows and trainers come here, and obviously as a little sideline is the bed and breakfast.

- [Gretchen] Blimey, not only is the B and B busy, but the business in the barn is bloomin' brisk.

- [Marie] Through the Summer months, we have a show nearly every weekend ranging from bowl shows, ropings, we have POA which is pony of America.

We even have dog shows here.

These are our typical Tennessee stables which we love.

This is the country barn but over there behind me, we have the show barn.

And there's 48 stalls in the show barn and I imported the stalls from England because I wanted to do something a little bit different, I wanted something to put me on the map and also remind me of England.

So, these stalls were designed by Monarch who actually have very similar stalls in the Queen's muse where she keeps all her horses in their Victorian or Elizabethan.

(folk music) - [Gretchen] The stables are fit for a queen and so is the country side which Marie puts to good use.

- [Marie] Well, we give little pony and riding lessons and on the trail rides, we use our walking horses, our Tennessee walking horses.

And it is supervised riding 'cause people say they can ride and they can't.

You know.

Yeah, they see all these wonderful Clint Eastwood movies and want to go galloping off into the sunset and next thing you know they're in Fayetteville.

Highway 231 going, help!

So, no, we do a nice steady supervised ride.

Yeah, oh, am I boring you?

Sorry.

- [Gretchen] Well, boredom's not a problem for humans, anyway.

Even if riding's not your cup of tea, there's plenty to do.

- [Marie] We have a beautiful vis-a-vis carriage and we do carriage rides and buggy rides for people who don't want to ride but they want to have some kind of contact with horses, and they're quite happy seeing the ears in front, you know, as opposed to sitting on their backs.

We've got the fishing in the pond where it's just stocked with bass, and bream, and lots and lots of catfish.

Then we've also got the swimming pool right by the deck behind the bed and breakfast rooms.

And then we've also seen people golfing in the big front field, so while the wives are riding and enjoying the show, the kids are fishing and daddy's playing golf on the front back there.

Yeah, so we try and keep everybody busy.

Oh, they'll find something to do anyway.

(classical music) - [Gretchen] All of this activity can make a bloke feel out on his feet.

No worries, governor, you'll be chuffed to bits with the accommodations.

And that's a good thing.

- [Marie] I decided to do them all in different horse themes because we do cater for every breed.

So, we've got the Tennessee walking horse room which is a big family room, it's got a queen bedroom and connects to a twin bedded room.

I kinda tried to go for an elegant look with that beautiful bed with all the scrolls and everything, and made it into a family room, which is very useful, you know, for parents in the big queen bed and then the children, you know, in the twin beds in the other room.

And of course, that room gives on to the deck which they love.

The quarter horse room, I actually found the furniture quite by accident.

I was at a cutting horse show and there were these people who had made this furniture and I'm like, I've got to have that bed.

It's a major feature of the quarter horse room, I think, with its beautiful cow hide, and the color, and the red, and everything, yeah.

It is exquisite.

Third bedroom is quintessentially English, I believe.

And we have pictures of thorough breds in there, and a lot of the little bits and pieces on the wall I actually did bring with me from England.

You know, like the china plates and everything like that.

The new lodge, you know, it's a great place for people that want to stay for a full week because it's got the washer, the dryer, the kitchen, the oven, and they can cook and do what they want.

And there's two bedrooms in there.

Plus there's also a great sofa, you know, so, as a spare.

- [Gretchen] And for those who want to bring their own bedroom... - [Marie] We've got RV hook ups.

We have people come here for about two or three months and stay.

- [Gretchen] When asked to sum up life on the farm, Marie's answer was no surprise.

- [Marie] It's peaceful.

Like to make me feel a little bit that their on holiday, catch their breath and sit and watch the geese fly by.

Oh, well, I think she's smiling.

Oh, there you go, Tucky.

- [Gretchen] The horses are smiling, the people are smiling all because of the jolly good times had at the Clearview horse farm.

(classical music) - Well finally, around this time of year as July fourth approaches, people start feeling a little more patriotic and get ready to display their flags at homes and businesses.

Ten years ago, Rob Wilds first brought us this story about a Murfreesboro man who proudly and bravely served his country and now shares his experiences in a unique way.

- [Rob] When you drop by mister Fayne Haynes' place of business in Murfreesboro, you might find him spending some time talking to previous employees, recalling more than 60 years in business, much of it as a groundbreaking candy wholesaler.

- [Voiceover] You know, we was the first to start taking the candy out of the showcases, they had it all in glass showcases before that time, and we couldn't even buy this place, or open this place, we built it myself out of plywood and put the displays up and put the candy on it.

We'd tell the merchants if he'd let us put in a display that we would furnish the display and service it for him and increase his candy sales, and which, we did.

- [Rob] Mister Haynes would have some mighty interesting stories to tell if the candy business were all he'd ever done, but it's not.

(suspenseful music) Not by a long shot, Fayne Haynes found himself in the same position as millions of other Americans back in the 1940s.

There was a war on and he was drafted.

Member of a tank destroyer group, he landed at D-day.

- [Fayne] My gun alone, the first ten days, I fired 1,001 rounds course of ten days.

- [Rob] He fought literally for months without rest until the battle of the bulge.

- [Fayne] My commanding officer ordered us to surrender.

He said, all of my men has either been killed or wounded, and from here on out, it'll be a useless loss of lives.

So, he lined us up in the street with our hands over our head like this, and they pulled up a tank right in front of us and he thought they was gonna take us prisoner, and all of a sudden, he turned a machine gun on us back and forth, and he fired 'til he couldn't see nobody movin'.

But I happened to be on the street on the far side next to the curb and gutter, and I dropped to the pavement before his machine gun could get around to me.

I laid there and didn't move like I was dead until he pulled a tank up, turned it around, went back the other way when he got out of sight, I got up and walked off, and out of the 30, far as I know, I was the only one that walked away from it.

- [Rob] Walked away only to be captured and then, incredibly, to escape and make his way back to American lines.

It's a story that belongs in a novel or at least a museum.

- This is my map that I escaped with and I started right here at falling Brussels, Germany, and they marched us under a shotgun by foot all the way up here at a little town right off the map at Barnstead.

I wrote that on there with a pencil.

- [Rob] So, mister Haynes has set up just such a museum in his business, and he's happy to show anyone who stops by around the place.

- [Rob] People ought to think about the war and the sacrifices that people made during the war.

- [Rob] Still, mister Haynes had such a tough time in the war, a horrific time.

Really, you might think having all these things around would be too much.

Too many memories.

Too many thoughts.

- [Rob] Once you're through a war, it touches you, and you're just not the same, I guess.

And it was very hard for me to forget some of those battles and stuff.

You take, I was pitted right against the German gunners for six months and four days, it's either me or them.

I didn't have any regrets of what I did during the war.

I was sworn in to do a job, you know, and I was trained 18 months, and I thought it was my job to do that and Hitler had to be taken out.

And after we saw what all Hitler had done to people and everything, that he had to be taken out and...

I didn't do anything during the war that I had any regrets about.

- Given mister Haynes' experiences in the war and his deep beliefs, it isn't too surprising that when he decided to expand his business, he expanded it right into a patriotic kind of business.

(phone ringing) - Good morning, Haynes' Flags and Flagpoles.

How may I help you?

- [Fayne] I'm a patriotic soul, you know, being a veteran and all, and I've got a 30 foot flag here at the candy company that I fly.

I fly a 30 foot flag at my house out there, and I have for years.

And I enjoy the flags.

- [Rob] People who buy flags and poles from mister Haynes also enjoy them, or as Shannon Woodfin Parsons of the Woodfin Memorial Chapel says, find them comforting.

- [Voiceover] It doesn't matter if you're a military family or not.

I think it's a big comfort to families, being an American.

I feel very proud to live here and I think others do, as well.

And so I think that's why, the exact reason why we have it.

- [Fayne] Our flag represents our country and it represents the freedom that we have.

- [Rob] It's a symbol that has real meaning to most of us and a special meaning to soldier, veteran, businessman Fayne Haynes of Murfreesboro.

(patriotic music) (upbeat music) - Well, it's always nice to see that story and guess what, mister Haynes is 93 years old and going to work every day.

Well, we hope you have a happy fourth celebration and join us next time on Tennessee Crossroads.

That's when we take you to East Nashville where Tammi Arender explores the local food truck scene.

Then it's off to southern Kentucky to discover a third generation broom making tradition, then to White's Creek where Rob Wilds meets a craftsman who just loves company.

Then to McKenzie with Ken Wilshire to visit the Gordon Browning Museum and library.

That will be a good one, our next Tennessee Crossroads, why don't you come back and join us?

(jazz music)